


The Truth About Cats and Dogs

by SweetLateJuliet



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2018-01-15 12:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1304344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetLateJuliet/pseuds/SweetLateJuliet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pet preference in <i>Sherlock</i>. It’s a metaphor. <i>Cherchez le chien!</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Truth About Cats and Dogs

_Good, excellent, yes, where shall we start?_

Just some thoughts about… preferences.

We knew from the beginning that Molly was, shall we say, a cat person.

(When one of the first things she says about Tom is “he’s got a dog,” well… those things have a way of working themselves out.)

Mary is a cat lover.

After S3, I’m pretty sure Sherlock is… a dog person.

Harry the Equerry’s a dog lover. (Ooh… a hint at Myquerry once upon a time?)

Billy and Gary? Definitely dog people.

Henry Knight probably [would’ve been a dog person](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1183733), but somebody made him pretty confused about that when he was a kid.

(The kind woman with her beautiful dog, who asks young Henry if he’s alright, if he’s lost, was named Grace. My heart.)

“Kitty” Riley: probably a cat person.

If Janine wanted to pull at the wedding, Sherlock tells her a good bet was the recently divorced doctor with the ginger cat. (Except for that ED thing.)

And John?

Well, you could be forgiven for being uncertain. He’s not shown choosing one or the other.

The proprietor of The Lucky Cat suggested his wife would like a cat. He did go on to marry a cat-loving woman. Cats like  _him_ ,  and he gets on (kind of) with Sekhmet:

Moriarty sees  _something_ pet-like in the bond between Sherlock and John:

> JIM _(calmly, to Sherlock)_ :  Isn’t he sweet? I can see why you like having him around. But then people do get so sentimental about their pets.
> 
> _(Grimacing angrily, John pulls him even closer onto the bomb that is now sandwiched between them. Jim scowls round at him.)_
> 
> JIM: They’re so touchingly loyal. But,  _oops!_
> 
> _(He grins briefly at John, then looks towards Sherlock.)_
> 
> JIM: You’ve rather shown your hand there, Doctor Watson.

(excerpts from [Ari](http://arianedevere.livejournal.com/), as ever!)  


When Jeanette said she didn’t want to compete with Sherlock, John offered to walk her dog as an apology. (Oops, she doesn’t have one!)

Sherlock uses a cat idiom for John’s inability to keep secrets:

> SHERLOCK: … I worried that, you know, you might say something indiscreet.
> 
> JOHN: What?
> 
> SHERLOCK: Well, you know, let the cat out of the bag.
> 
> JOHN  _(stepping closer again)_ : Oh, so this is  _my_ fault?!

When Tessa is talking to drunk!Sherlock and drunk!John, she doesn’t mention a pet, but we get this exchange:

> SHERLOCK:  _What’s_ your dog’s name?
> 
> JOHN  _(blurrily, talking in his sleep)_ :  Yeah, I’m there if you want it.

Huh.

Perhaps John likes _both_ dogs and cats, and he’s drawn to particular ones based on the qualities of the creature.

IF you know what I mean.

> SHERLOCK  _(smiling)_ : You think it was the cat. It wasn’t the cat.
> 
> JOHN: What? No, yes. Yeah, it  _is._ It  _must_ be.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm squinting Anderson-like at the [original post](http://deduceit-old.tumblr.com/post/41412448713/are-you-a-dog-person-or-cat-person) and the blog it comes from. Hey there, maybe-Joe-Lidster.


End file.
